South China's Sanya Phoenix International Airport launches trial operation of new terminal

The Sanya Phoenix International Airport, located in the resort city of Sanya in south China's tropical island province of Hainan, commenced the trial operation of its newly built Terminal 3 (T3) on Sunday, marking a major expansion of the tourism hub's capacity ahead of the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush.

With the addition of T3, the airport's annual passenger throughput is projected to reach 30 million trips.

The terminal will fully assume the function of handling domestic flights, featuring 40 check-in counters, 23 security screening lanes, and seven fixed boarding bridges.

Connected to Terminals 1 and 2 via enclosed corridors, it is intended to deliver a seamless travel experience for passengers.

During the 2026 Spring Festival travel season, spanning from February 2 to March 13, the Sanya Phoenix International Airport is expected to handle about 18,600 flights and 3.49 million passenger trips.

By leveraging T3's added capacity, the airport aims to alleviate operational pressure on other terminals and improve service efficiency during the peak travel period.

"The airport will work to enhance its overall operational capacity and turnover efficiency, strengthen end-to-end flight management, and focus efforts on increasing the rate of flights docking at bridges and the on-time rate, to keep improving travel experience for passengers," said Li Xiaohuan, assistant to the president of the Sanya Phoenix International Airport.

South China's Sanya Phoenix International Airport launches trial operation of new terminal

South China's Sanya Phoenix International Airport launches trial operation of new terminal

Enterprises from the United States are welcome to seize the development opportunities in China and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the country, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Beijing on Sunday.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC).

Noting that China-U.S. ties are the world's most important bilateral relations, He said it is hoped that the USCBC will continue to play its role as a bridge to promote friendly exchanges and the steady and healthy development of economic and trade relations between China and the United States.

It is also hoped that U.S. enterprises can fully seize the development opportunities in China, make good use of the potential of the Chinese market, and inject more stability and positive energy into China-U.S. economic and trade relations, He added.

Rajesh Subramaniam, board chair of the USCBC, Sean Stein, president of the USCBC, and other members from the delegation noted that the U.S. business sector is optimistic about China's economic development prospects. They expressed the willingness to further explore the Chinese market, play an active role, and continuously deepen the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

U.S. enterprises are welcome to seize development opportunities in China: vice premier